LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, etc ALL faced the SAME Rators team MULTIPLE TIMES and didn't even come close to scoring 81. Stop diminishing a super-human accomplishment. Not even the proclaimed G.O.A.T., Michael Jordan, ever came close to 81.

IMO, the most impressive scoring output EVER in the history of the NBA. Way more impressive than Wilts's 100. Happy Anniversary Kobe! Best player on the planet!

Why are you even in this thread, if you didn't like the game? We are here to celebrate it. For the enormous accomplishment that it was.

I'm in here so history doesn't get distorted. This is the same crap that people pull with wars or social movements in popular history all the time. 'History from Above' isn't the only way of telling the story of the past, 'History from Below' is also a very valid form of historiography.

kwajo, you're comparing a basketball game to the above? Nothing stated in this thread hasn't been false.

yup

I'm not comparing the game itself to the above, I'm saying that because Kobe and the Lakers won, their story gets told in a glorified and embellished manner. That's what History from Above is, it is the history of the victors, not the vanquished.

I'm not comparing the game itself to the above, I'm saying that because Kobe and the Lakers won, their story gets told in a glorified and embellished manner. That's what History from Above is, it is the history of the victors, not the vanquished.

Umm, I don't see you put every other performance in "historical perspective" and try to water it down to keep it eye level. Amazing performances are fun because of how they're re-told, and passed on. Just listen to the Jordan, Bird, and Magic stories. All embelished to some extent. However, nothing in here has yet to be exaggerated.

And I spoke up about this one for two reasons: One, I am a Raptors fan so I feel qualified to speak for them, whereas I cannot speak for many other teams in the league. Two, I dislike high scoring swingmen. I think they ruin the game to a certain extent, I think they take away from good defense, ball movement and post play, I think they too easily get big egos and play selfishly, I feel they get coddled by the modern rule changes and I think they get overrated in their importance to winning games.

So you are completely biased within this context, as stated, for multiple reasons. Rasheed1 also a Kobe hater, has an agenda to side with anyone who downplays the performance. The whole world operates on a check and balance.

So Kobe's athletic ability, size, and quickness is ahead of its time? Better than anyone's in the league?

Not better than anyone else's in the league, but way the crap better than any last-year Raptor hoping to guard him.

Quote:

P.S. Why are you still here? This is a Kobe praise thread. If you didn't like the performance, or the man, stay out. You knew what to expect coming in here.

I'm still here because I choose to engage in the often-vain mission of injecting some rationality into the people of this board. There's nothing wrong with praising great accomplishments, and Bryant's 81 certainly was one. But that doesn't mean that you can just say anything you want in support of it and expect it to be accepted as solid knowledge/analysis.